A Feast of a Month

August has been an incredible month for the ceramic community of Gauteng. Feast or famine the saying goes and August has certainly been a feast of a month.
Firstly 2 shows at the Everard Read Gallery and Circa. Southern Guild at the former and Wilma Cruise's The Alice Diaries at Circa. How wonderful it is to see ceramics playing a major role in exhibitions at fine art galleries. Both these excellent shows deserve to be seen. I was fortunate enough to attend the walkabout at Wilma's exhibition which gave me further insight into her work. It is rare to see exhibitions of this calibre and I urge you to see both if you are in the area.
Also this month at the Kim Sacks Gallery we had the pleasure of Wendy Gers, renowned ceramic historian, hosting a session of Small Talk. These informal get-togethers are held regularly at the gallery and are an opportunity for conversation and debate.

Daphne Corregan: the workshop

Over and above this was the selections for the Ceramics Southern Africa National Biennale and I had the privilege of attending a workshop presented by the visiting award judge Daphne Corregan. What an incredible day. I loved seeing the intuitive way she works and her obvious love for the clay and the possibilities it offers. What a month this has been, and what a joy to be a part of it.

Image Transfer Workshop

There is an exciting trend to use transferred imagery in ceramics these days, either on its own or in combination with other methods of decoration. I have been exploring methods of image transfer on ceramics for some time and will present my New Image Transfer workshop this Friday, 29^th June from 9:30 -12:30 at The Pottery Studio, 24 Old Kilcullen Road, Bryanston.  I will cover ways of transferring images onto the ceramic surface and this could open avenues for you to explore in your own work.

Methods shown will include a lithographic printing method and a new process using negative imagery with slip and underglaze, which allows you to transfer images in any colour of your choosing, which I think is the most exciting of all!

I will also discuss the making of ceramic decals using laser printing.

The cost of this workshop is R350.00

If you have any queries or wish to attend please contact me at johnshir@gmail.com 

CSA Regional Exhibition 2012

On show at the Ceramics S A Regional Exhibition at Museum Africa, Johannesburg. 

My work, pierced bone china, on show at this year's regional exhibition hosted by Ceramics Southern Africa at Museum Africa in Newtown, Johannesburg. The piece at the back of the group is by Sandy Godwin. The exhibition runs until the 25th May.

Why Mentorship?

How do we find our voice? I believe it is when we are doing what we truly want to be doing that we discover our ‘voice’ through our work. But there are so many things that block us from doing this. Not trusting ourselves, and also a lack of clarity about what we are making. Worrying about what others think and not seeing things through.

I am now in my third year of running ‘The Mentorship Programme’ and I can honestly say that I am astounded by watching the transformation that occurs in the participants and their work.

The Mentorship programme is not a practical class, but rather an opportunity for discussion, assessment and feedback. By dealing with the blocks we have to experiencing our creativity through simple processes and also by regular critique and debate it is a continual and rewarding joy to observe the confidence and enthusiasm growing in the participants and seeing it reflected in their work.

The Mentorship Programme runs over a period of 6 months and is run as a three hour session once a month. The cost of the programme is R2100.00

The next Mentorship Programme in Johannesburg starts this Friday, 18th May At 9:30 am and there are 2 places available.

For those who cannot get away for the morning sessions I will be running an evening programme starting on Thursday, 31st May at 6:30 pm

If you are interested in participating in either of these please let me know and I will send you a questionnaire and booking details and full dates for the programme by return. You will need to complete the questionnaire before commencing the programme.

If you have any further questions related to the Mentorship Programme do not hesitate to contact me

Ceramics SA Gauteng Regional Exhibition. You are invited

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Looking Back at 'Andrew Walford & Friends'

What a wonderful week spending and sharing time at the iStore Sandhurst with fellow exhibitors at the show 'Andrew Walford and Friends' The opening was well attended as seen by the images here. Ronnie Watt opened the exhibition, and it was so wonderful to reconnect with old friends and to make a number of new ones.

Ronnie Watt: the opening address

A great turn out at the opening

Some of the work on view

Andrew Walford & Friends

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Don't miss this exhibition. A really exciting mix of work and Andrew will be demonstrating at the opening at 12:30 on Saturday 17th March, at the iStore, 1 Sandton Drive, Sandhurst. Opening address by well-known collector Ronnie Watt. It would be great to see you there!